Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
"Take care of it," I repeated, sure I was not interpreting that right. "As in... get an abortion?" I clarified, dropping my voice in case Ollie was nearby.
"Yep."
"You can't be serious. They used to drag you to rallies against abortion."
"Apparently, they are only devout when it involves someone else's daughter. When it is their own, they're hypocrites."
"I can't believe they would come out and ask that of you."
"Demand. They demanded that of me," she explained, shaking her head. "If I wanted to keep living there, if I wanted to keep having them cover my college tuition, then I had to get rid of 'my little mistake,'" she told me, the words coming out thick with distaste.
"Who is the father?" I asked, not seeing a masculine touch to the house. The colors, the art, the fact that there was a box of tampons sitting on the kitchen counter, it all spoke of a very female household.
"Elias Michael Schway."
"Fancy name."
"Fancy guy. Also another person who wanted me to take care of it. Though he offered to pay to do so."
"How generous."
"In his defense, it was a one-night thing. I was tired of being known as the only virgin in my dorm. Went to a party. Got it over with. Of course, right at first, I wasn't thrilled either. I was too young. I had just started school. I had no family support. But this baby fought its way through two forms of birth control. I felt like that is just fate right there. I just... I wanted her. I wanted her and I was terrified."
I'd had several moments over the past couple of weeks while reconnecting with my family when I felt shitty. When I met children I hadn't even known were born. When I saw the faces of kids I had known, but didn't recognize thanks to the passing of time. When my mother told me she'd made me a scrapbook for each year I was gone, so that when I came back, I could see what everyone had been up to.
This, though. This might have been the worst gut-punch.
Iggy had been a sister to me, the one person I trusted with all my secrets and hopes and dreams, the person I shared the most inside stories with, the first person I told good or bad news to, my partner in crime, my 'person.'
And the one time when she really, truly would have needed me, I hadn't been there for her. I hadn't even known.
"Iggs... I'm so sorry," I told her, reaching across the table to put my hand over hers. "I should have been here for you through that."
"I wanted you to be, I won't lie." We'd always been honest with each other, even when the truth hurt. I appreciated that she wasn't going to be more reserved with her feelings out of fear of me wanting to rush off again. There was no stepping on eggshells with old friends.
"What did you do?"
"I called Vance. He came back to town for a bit. The band was so pissed. But he came because of course he did. We sat down and figured out how I could make it work. Then, when he was back on the road, he sent me some of his money so I wouldn't worry in those early days."
"What did you guys decide?"
"That I would quit school. There was really no way around that. I couldn't afford it. I didn't really like what I was doing anyway. I figured I could always go back or do something online when Ollie got older. And then the first five months, I worked my ass off while renting a room in someone's spare bedroom. Waitress, dog walker, stocker at the grocery store, a gift wrapper over the holidays. You name it, I did it. And I socked every penny away so that I could take some time off when I had Olive."
"I hate that," I admitted, shaking my head, thinking of an eighteen-year-old Iggy working sixty-hour-plus weeks for the first five months of her pregnancy.
"Honestly, it wasn't as bad as it sounds. I was determined. The harder I worked, the more I saved, the longer I could be home with my baby. It was actually while I was serving tables that someone gave me a brilliant idea."
"What brilliant idea?"
"He said I had a great voice, and should do some voice acting."
"You do have a great voice," I agreed, always having been envious of it. She had a smooth, almost polished voice.
"So I went home and figured I could look into it. I did my first sample recording on my ancient iPhone. But I got offers. And then more offers. And then so many offers that I had to invest in some good recording materials and soundproofing. And, well, it became a business. I am not rolling in it, of course, but we are comfortable enough in our little life. And I can be here for Ollie. You know how school is. Off all summer. Spring break. Winter break. All the friggen teacher conferences and minor holidays. Plus sick days."